London Fixed-gear and Single-speed

Right, you 'orrible lot have seduced me with your firm yet squishy 29" orbs and I've got the go-ahead for a birthday project.

So...I have a 3 or 4 year old Giant MTB that has seen very little use and has reasonably decent Deore components. My idea was to get hold of a 29er frameset and transfer as much as I could from the Giant to save some squids. Choice of frame is down to the Surly Karate Monkey and the Singular Swift with my current preference going to the Swift as it's slightly bigger (I'm *really* tall), only a little bit more expensive and I think it looks nicer.

In terms of transferring components, I know I will definitely need a new BB and headset (don't want the hassle of removing the Giant one tbh) but I *think* I should be able to reuse all of the drivetrain and brakes with no real hassles.

For wheels, I am torn between re-lacing the current hubs to 29er rims or just getting some new hubs and leaving the old ones alone. If I get new hubs they'd have to be really quite cheap - any suggestions?

Any other tips, gotchas etc?

deor hubs can be found very cheap. I got a front for £5 and rear for £12. lots of shops have sales on ATM so go have a hunt

was all ready to buy the on one inbred 29er and then read max tyre width was 2.4 - at a stretch. can anyone recommend any other reasonably priced 29er frames that take fatter tyres?

That's a pretty big tyre and that's only the rear the front would still take a 2.5" which I think is the widest available 29er currently.

Just pulled the trigger on an XL Swift.

*is excited*

action that for me

Thats just because of the way tyre companys seem to all own different rulers. The Schwalbe Racing Ralph 2.4" is infact bigger than the WTF weirwolf 2.55", and I've definitely seen an Inbred running RR 2.4"'s.

No clearance problem there. For most conditions a slightly narrower rear is preferable anyway TBH. Personally, I'm swapping out my rear WW 2.55" for a Geax Saguaro 2.2", when I get around to it.

<does kiddish thumbs-up>

I'll be round to check that out at the coffee shop.
soon.
you lucky bastard.
deserved though.

Indeed, the Weirwolfs are actually about 2.2/2.3 or so.

how the hell does one work out frame sizes

the numbers seem to mean very little, i have found whole threads of people giving inseam lengths (actual and or trouser), height and then frame size for things like a karate monkey

at times 3 different people with nearly exactly the same dimensions will have 3 different sizes of frame and all claim theirs fit perfectly

is there any general consensus on beam pannier racks? do i need to find a frame with pannier braze ons or will a beam suffice?

I guess the sizing thing is down to people having different riding positions on their bikes, as opposed to road bikes where there is a standard position. Go try one out and see what it's like, failing that buy a medium frame.

why are you after a 29'er? just get a cross/touring/hybrid
you don't want to do any proper moutainbiking do you?
you would actually make a good mtb'er (a proper 26in bouncy one) you would spanner yourself within 3 months though :-)

as for sizing that depends. noodling along towpaths = longer TT/stem compared to ragging it offroad which means shorter/higher and a QR for your seatpost.

noodling along canal paths etc, riding out in longleat when visiting my dad things of that nature

was thinking of a single speed bike, but with the option to gear it up later and with the option to sling panniers on

probably not looking to do real technical mtb stuff, so hard tail 29er seems to offer decent comfort and speed

James, have you though of building a dinglespeed?

Have a butcher at this;

http://www.fatcyclist.com/2008/10/02/some-of-each/

I don't think those dinglespeed cogs work that well, I do a similar thing with my Mary. Instead of having a bashguard, I have another chainring, so I have a 32t and a 35t chainring, which means I can run a 32/19 ratio and a 35/16 ratio (I can go one or two teeth either way and take up the difference with the EBB), which means i've got an off-road gear in the high-40s and a road gear of mid-60s. Probably takes a minute or so longer than the dinglespee setup but you'll make that up pretty easily as you'll have proper gearing for your environment.

This^

Think of the differing ETT's offered by a sportive and a racing road bike of the same 'size'. Consider how similar these riding styles actually are. Then consider the difference between riding handbag-XC and full-on all-mountain.

A total reach (ETT+stem+bar-reach) of around 70cm works for me on the road, whereas 66cm seems good for handbag'in it around light trails. When I ventured into the tough stuff, there was no doubt that both bars and bum could have been an inch or so back. But I have plans for full sus 26" all-mountain bike that.

If that is all you are doing I would agree with MrsMyth, a cyclo cross bike would be more use for waht you're proposing, if you do go for a mtb don't even go for a hardtail, fully rigid will be more than enough the weight and expense of the suspension forks are not worth it.

Re beam racks, they are heavy, sway around, carry the load too high nad have a low load weight. If you want a rack get a proper one tubus and OMM do ones that fit bikes without rack brazeons.

sweet

another part of the reason for mtb is that i want to go riding with the gf

she does not enjoy riding a road bike but has expressed interest in riding off road and also wants a more upright position

if she went for an mtb and i were on a cyclocross bike i could imagine i would end up disappearing into the distance, the idea is to do an activity together and to get fit

also most of the people i know who do cyclocross compete, and i am still averse to making my cycling a competitive activity

Cyclo-x bikes with rack and guard mounts are soooooo useful though, and the difference between 29ers and cyclo-x bike is becoming smaller all the time.

The fargo is a pretty useful looking 29er

I personally find Cyclo cross bikes a bit faster off road but not to the point where you would be leaving your gf in the distance anymore than if you were on an MTB. You will just need to go slower!

+1 If you are riding with someone slower you just have to slow down and keep an eye that you are not just leaving them in the distance. Consideration.

If you are only riding light trails. then having a cyclo-x bike makes everything a little more challenging. So it might help even out the cycling abilies some.

fuck me...
all i should've done was waited with my insurance money and bought that fargo.
it does what the geekhouse is meant to do (and will do at some point)

Get a twenty niner James. You then have the ability to run cyclocross tyres if you want speed AND MTB tyres if you want to ride some proper off road.

Personally, if i had the money, and knowing your love of titanium, I'd go with the guy who has been pioneering big wheels for the longest, and it ain't gary fisher!

Wes willits!
His monster x is the one for you!
Especially if you get the custom options for rack/fender/wiggly back end etc.

have been considering the surly karate monkey, it seems to again float on the verge of cyclox/29er

henners, sorry you dont do it for me

aha, scott

down the line that might be the kind of thing i'd be looking at

but best not jump in at the deep end quite yet

would probably go back to Robin for a Ti frame, just had such a blast doing the road bike with him

would probably have a split in the rear triangle for belt drive, braze ons for the kitchen sink....

(fuck fuck fuck looks like i have replaced some habits with even more expensive ones)

step away from any cycling related things that will give me shopping lust

29er with rolhoff hub, belt drive, and full trekking braze-on package? Yes please!

But if you are just testing the water. get an inbred. Cheap as chips, solid as..., and with rack mounts.



Then get a custom Ti 29er with rolhoff hub, belt drive, and full trekking braze-on package ;)

Go with the Karate monkey for now then...I loved mine.

all of you are now on ignore

la la la la la la

cant hear or see anything

(he lies)

That Monster X look brilliant.

shut it squabs

stop posting utter filth like that

i am getting the shopping horn

this is my next bike.
fact.

Fuck everyone advice and get this then;

eeurrgghh

a mid fap wilt inducer

To be honest 29" wheels are a bit slow. They just dont roll well enough.

This is nice..........

......I need to stop now.

Nooooiiiice.

Only thing putting me off the Gryphon is the lower bottom bracket.

you will like!

my original swift below-

stop it, all of you

bastards

will report you all for something, not sure what

Excessive radness.

Oh that is lovely. I do like the fat tyre with CX bars combo but I think I'll be putting Marys on mine.

some nice lookin shredders on dis tread

I'm in a similar situation to DJ. My girlfriend would like a bike but doesn't want a road bike, and would like to be able to take it off road (probably just dirt paths etc to begin with). So she was going to get a bike on C2W but as I have a spare frame knocking about we figure we could build something up for less.
Now my knowledge of things off road is limited, but I was thinking of a shorter stem, flat/riser bars (she doesn't like drops), single speed, 700c wheels with some fatter, knobblier tyres. Brakes would have to be caliper or centre pulls.
The only reason I suggested single speed is because it make maintaining it so much easier. She's ok with the idea of SS, but not keen on fixed (yet!).

So some (basic) questions:
Will any 700c rim do? Obviously not the super lightweight racing types, but something like you'd get on a hybrid?
Gearing - obviously you go a bit lower for off road, but I really have no idea. What's a good "starting" gear for someone without a lot of leg power?
Brakes - any with bigger clearance than the Tektro R556 (I think that's the model)?

Or should we just be looking at something basic like this: http://www.btwincycle.com/EN/vitamin-100634901/ or would that be akin to a unipack?

Any 700c rim will do as long as you don't want to go mad on tyre size. I run 35c on a narrow rim without any issues but the wider the rim the better it is so a touring/hybrid type rim would probably be better if starting from scratch.
Gearing would need to be around 50GI if there are any hills but it is always a compromise as 50GI is a bore when on road.

That btwin bike is a single speed cheap 26" "mountain" bike. Cheap and a perfect run around / pub bike. Don't expect much from it though as it is just a v. cheap bike, but can have it's uses.

Cheers kerley and tommy, I was expecting to get flamed for asking basic questions. I guess I'll get a couple of cheap SS freewheels so she can try out some different ratios.